The Tzu Chi Silent Mentor Program: Application of Buddhist Ethics to Teach Student Physicians Empathy, Compassion, and Self-Sacrifice.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Silent Mentor Program promotes the donation of one's body to science as a selfless act by appealing to the Buddhist ethics of compassion and self-sacrifice. Together, faculty, families, and donors help medical students to learn the technical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological aspects of medicine. Students assigned to each "Silent Mentor" visit the family to learn about the donor's life. They see photos and hear family members' stories. Afterwards, students write a brief biography of the donor which is posted on the program website, in the medical school, and on the dissection table. In this paper, we: (1) summarize the Silent Mentor Program; (2) describe findings from an assessment of medical students who recently completed a new version of the program in Malaysia; and (3) explore how healthcare settings could benefit from this innovative program.

Efecto in vitro de una solución de Passiflora incarnata L. sobre la respuesta de linfocitos humanos de donantes sanos y de enfermos con inmunodeficiencia celular / In vitro effect of a Passiflora incarnata L. solution on the response of human lymphocytes from healthy donors and from patients with cellular immunodeficiency

La Passiflora incarnata L. es una especie que se ha utilizado por el hombre con diversos fines. Se estudió el efecto in vitro de un extracto fluido de esta planta sobre los linfocitos de 20 donantes voluntarios de sangre y de 20 enfermos con diagnóstico de inmunodeficiencia celular, mediante la técnica de formación de roseta activa, roseta espontánea y el ultramicrométodo inmunocitoquímico, así como en la función fagocítica de los neutrófilos. No se hallaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las condiciones experimentales sin pasiflora y con pasiflora, en las técnicas de formación de rosetas ni en la expresión de los marcadores de linfocitos CD2 y CD3. Similares resultados se hallaron con la función fagocítica de los neutrófilos en la misma dilución(AU)

Passiflora incarnata L. is a species that has been used by man for various purposes. It was studied the effect in vitro of a fluid extract of this plant on lymphocytes from 20 blood donors and 20 patients with cellular immunodeficiency diagnosis, using the technique of active rosette formation, and spontaneous rosette immunocytochemical ultramicromethod and in the phagocytic function of neutrophils. We found no statistically relevant differences between experimental conditions with and without Passiflora, neither in the rosette formation techniques or the expression of lymphocyte markers CD2 and CD3. Similar results were found with the phagocytic function of neutrophils in the same dilution(AU)

Efecto in vitro de una solución de Passiflora incarnata L. sobre la respuesta de linfocitos humanos de donantes sanos y de enfermos con inmunodeficiencia celular / In vitro effect of a Passiflora incarnata L. solution on the response of human lymphocytes from healthy donors and from patients with cellular immunodeficiency

La Passiflora incarnata L. es una especie que se ha utilizado por el hombre con diversos fines. Se estudió el efecto in vitro de un extracto fluido de esta planta sobre los linfocitos de 20 donantes voluntarios de sangre y de 20 enfermos con diagnóstico de inmunodeficiencia celular, mediante la técnica de formación de roseta activa, roseta espontánea y el ultramicrométodo inmunocitoquímico, así como en la función fagocítica de los neutrófilos. No se hallaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las condiciones experimentales sin pasiflora y con pasiflora, en las técnicas de formación de rosetas ni en la expresión de los marcadores de linfocitos CD2 y CD3. Similares resultados se hallaron con la función fagocítica de los neutrófilos en la misma dilución

Passiflora incarnata L. is a species that has been used by man for various purposes. It was studied the effect in vitro of a fluid extract of this plant on lymphocytes from 20 blood donors and 20 patients with cellular immunodeficiency diagnosis, using the technique of active rosette formation, and spontaneous rosette immunocytochemical ultramicromethod and in the phagocytic function of neutrophils. We found no statistically relevant differences between experimental conditions with and without Passiflora, neither in the rosette formation techniques or the expression of lymphocyte markers CD2 and CD3. Similar results were found with the phagocytic function of neutrophils in the same dilution

Views of midwives about ethical aspects of participation in placental perfusion studies.

BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding the role of the midwife in recruiting mothers to participate in scientific research. OBJECTIVE: To describe ethical aspects of participation of midwives in placental perfusion studies. DESIGN: Qualitative study involving thematic interviews and thematic content analysis. SETTING: Two university hospitals in Finland in 2008-2009. PARTICIPANTS: Midwives (n=20) who had been involved in recruiting mothers for a placental perfusion study. FINDINGS: Midwives felt that the situation, when inviting the mothers to donate their placentas, was restless and hasty because of the considerable number of tasks required during a birth. For recruitment, they explained how they tried their best to find a quiet opportunity to provide information about the placental perfusion study, so that the mother could take her time reading the written information. During a birth, it was difficult to give information to the mother in such a way that she would truly understand. Information for the mother was planned to be provided in an equal, dialogic conversation, with the subject of research introduced by the midwife. Placental perfusion studies as carried out in this setting were not seen to have any risks for the mothers, and midwives were under less strain in this study than in other medical research projects. The midwives considered it normal to use placentas in scientific research, and did not see any associated ethical problems. In their opinion, the use of placentas was acceptable and even desirable, provided that the mother was informed about the research and gave voluntary informed consent. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTISE: Recruitment must be taken into account in management of the ward, and should be planned so that no recruitment is undertaken during medical procedures. Midwives need more education about the research including the important aspects of the creation of general knowledge about substances which may harm the fetus. Dialogue is needed between the mother and the midwife to ensure genuine informed consent.

Ovum donation: examining the new Israeli law.

Ovum donation affords countless couples that under natural circumstances would not be able to produce offspring the ability to carry out natural pregnancies. With advancements in biotechnology including egg collection and in vitro fertilization (IVF), physicians can now successfully implant fertilized embryos. Due to Israel's tremendous involvement in IVF for its own citizens, the national laws that govern egg donation are of great importance. On September 5th 2010, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) passed a law that allows young women between the ages of 21 and 35 to donate their eggs for paid financial compensation. The new law allows infertile women between the ages of 18 and 54 to request egg donation and IVF, which will partially be covered under state insurance plans. This article provides a description of the new Israeli law regulating ovum donation and the practical, moral and ethical debate surrounding the new system.

Chronic kidney disease, transplantation practices and transplantation law in Pakistan: opportunity for a global meditation.

The majority of countries have enacted edicts to regulate organ transplantation due to mounting recognition of its intricacies and increasing level of global disquiet. Frail national economy and status of health care infrastructure restricts access of the local population to both dialysis and transplantation in Pakistan. There is a surge in kidney transplantation activities, however. I have reported the enormity of organ crime in Pakistan. The number of commercial renal transplants range from 3000 to 4500. Foreign nationals share the marketplace. There are current attempts from the government to stop organ trade by strictly enforcing a recently sanctioned law on organ transplantation. Scarcity of comprehensive reliable data has hampered plausible assessments and indispensable modifications to facilitate designs for the future health care. Alternatives to organ transplantation will augment the choice of treatment modalities for a proliferating end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population. The whole array of existing therapeutic modalities for ESRD has to be utilized. Promoting a fresh culture of organ donation by strengthening of the family institution may be another objective.

Transplantation ethics from the Islamic point of view.

Organ transplantation has been transformed from an experimental procedure at Western academic centers to an increasingly common procedure in private and public hospitals throughout the world. Attendant with advancements in organ harvesting, preservation, and transplantation come moral issues. Islam is a holistic religion that takes into account social affairs of man as well as spiritual ones. Islam has a long history of ethics literature including the subgenre of medical ethics. Historical considerations are discussed as to why Muslim thinkers were late to consider contemporary medical issues such as organ donation. Islam respects life and values the needs of the living over the dead, thus allowing organ donation to be considered in certain circumstances. The sources of Islamic law are discussed in brief in order for non-Muslims to appreciate how the parameters of organ transplantation are derived. The Islamic viewpoint, both Shiite and Sunni, is examined in relation to organ donation and its various sources. The advantages and disadvantages of brain dead and cadaveric donation is reviewed with technical and ethical considerations. The Islamic concept of brain death, informed and proxy consent are also discussed. We discuss the concept of rewarded donation as a way to alleviate the current shortage of organs available for transplantation and consider secular and religious support for such a program. Suggestions are made for greater discussion and exchange of ideas between secular and religious thinkers in the Islamic world and between the Islamic world and secular Western countries.

Controversia en el diagnóstico de la muerte encefálica y la donación de órganos: aspectos éticos, legales y culturales / Controversy in the diagnosis of brain death and organ donation: legal, ethical and cultural issues

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